1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to electrocardiographic (ECG) systems that can sequentially identify, analyze, and classify multiple ECG recordings, and more specifically, to ECG analysis systems having mechanisms that automatically load, read, classify and remove cassette tapes, to and from, an ECG analysis system, while placing patient data on each report for identification purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The analysis of ECG recordings within the prior art has substantially improved throughout the years by an apparent unrelenting improvement in the sophistication of analysis system available within the industry. Conventional ECG ambulatory (Holter) monitoring employs a magnetic tape recorder and sensing devices for recording the bioelectric signals of the human heart. The recording sessions may last up to twenty-four hours or more. Thus analysis is only practical at speeds significantly greater than the real time recording speed. Typically, analysis takes place at 120 to 240 times the actual recording speed. Recent developments in computers and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) techniques have made possible scanning speeds of 500 times the real time recording speed, or even higher. Numerous methods have been used to automate to identify various cardiac abnormalities within the recording. Prior systems may either interact with the user or automatically keep record of the abnormalities existing within a recording. However, no system is readily available that can analyze multiple ECG recordings in a batch mode. Thus, there is a shortcoming within the prior art due to the lack of teachings wherein multiple recordings are automatically loaded, identified, analyzed and classified by the system without the need for user interaction. It is this shortcoming that is addressed by the present invention.